Lectures and seminars OnkPat Friday Seminar: A DNA-Based Nanorobotic Device for Targeted Cytotoxicity
Welcome to OnkPat Friday Seminar, this week with Björn Högberg, professor of Biophysics at Karolinska Institutet.
Host: Kasper Karlsson, Department of Oncology-Pathology.
Abstract
DNA is not only a carrier of genetic information but also an excellent building material for nanoscale engineering. It allows us to position molecules with nanometer precision to measure effects of binding depending on nanoscale separation of ligands. We argue that these DNA origami techniques are currently forming the basis for what might possibly become a new era of precise spatial control in biology. I will present recent examples of our work on nanoscale pattern induced pathway activations, including a recent application where we use this to create nanorobots intended to kill cancer cells.
Bio
Björn Högberg is a professor of Biophysics at Karolinska Institutet. He completed his PhD in Physics at Mid Sweden University and his post-doc at Harvard Medical School. Since 2010, he has led a research group at Karolinska Institutet, focusing on DNA nanotechnology. His work includes developing molecular tools for cell biology, anti-cancer strategies, and novel spatial sequencing methods. His lab has published in top journals like Nature, Nature Methods and Advanced Materials, and he has received numerous grants and awards, including the ERC Advanced and the Göran Gustafsson Prize from the Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences.
Selected references
A DNA robotic switch with regulated autonomous display of cytotoxic ligand nanopatterns.
Wang Y, Baars I, Berzina I, Rocamonde-Lago I, Shen B, Yang Y, Lolaico M, Waldvogel J, Smyrlaki I, Zhu K, Harris RA, Högberg B
Nat Nanotechnol 2024 Sep;19(9):1366-1374
Soluble and multivalent Jag1 DNA origami nanopatterns activate Notch without pulling force.
Smyrlaki I, Fördős F, Rocamonde-Lago I, Wang Y, Shen B, Lentini A, Luca VC, Reinius B, Teixeira AI, Högberg B
Nat Commun 2024 Jan;15(1):465
DNA rendering of polyhedral meshes at the nanoscale.
Benson E, Mohammed A, Gardell J, Masich S, Czeizler E, Orponen P, Högberg B
Nature 2015 Jul;523(7561):441-4